Automatic railway switch



Oct. 20, 1925- A. S. NORMENT AUTOMATIC RAILWAY SWI'I'QH &

m y e} a m T m INVENTOR.

Azma

Filed July 22, 1925 Mrment 1,557,766 1. s. NORMENT AUTOMATIC RAILWAY SWITCH Oct. 20, 1925- Filed July 22, 1925 2 Shuts-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 20, 1925.

U ITED STAT as 1 .ALVA s. R- E T; RIQHMOND mam AUTQMATIG RAILWAY SWITCH.

Application i i1ed Julyf22, 1 925; Sjeria1 Ko.'45,3 2 3.

Toollwhomt mayrconcerm-r r Belt known that I, ALVAS; NORMENT, a

citizen of the United States,'and resident of the .city of Richmond, insthecounty of He'nrico and-f-Stateuof Virginia, have invent ed a new and-useful Improvement; in: Automatic Railway Switches,.ofi whichuthe following is a tion. l

My invention relates to railway switch operating mechanism and. more p articularly to the automatic type of switches controtled by the operator oi the .car'without the necessity of alighting therefrom. Aiurther. object is toprovide means for throwing; the switch while the cards-in motion thereby eliminating any delay caused by the operator of the car. having. to stop, alight, and throw the switch by hand and also to provide a' means for throwing the switch without the use ofuelectricity there by conserving the great amount 01 elec tricity necessary to=throw an electric switch. A still further object is=-to provide-a simple and inexpensiwe device constructed to operate the switch by a plunger at: the front end oft-the car-which is pressed-w down causing. a shoe to be pushed into a groove in 'the street surface andcoming in contact with anunderground bar which in turn actuates a jointed-rod:attached to the switch point. This device will. permit the successful operation of the switch in: congested trafii'c :for the reason that the switch isnoperated' only; when the car reaches the under;- ground mechanism and therefore'cannot be operated by any car preceding or following. ith' the foregoing and other-objects in View, the invention consists oii the features of construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described andycl-ai'med', it being" understood that the drawings are .tor illustrative purposesonly and thatwarious modifications may well be made without: dc:- panting from the spirit .of'theinvention as set forth by theiclaims r In the. drawingforming. a: part of this application and in. whichwlikadesignating character's 'redierf to the: corresponding :parts throughout the: several. views, 1 I" I 1y Figure 1,. isa. .top plan view-10f the: track and Iswitchmeolianismrat a switch point, with parts-of coverishowiibrokenaway'; f 't Figure .2; .is afverticalc andlongitudinal cross section, taken on lines 2e+i2 .of: Figure fulh clear, and exact (descrip- 1,- and-also, showingfacrossr sectional view ot one'ofitheicarattachments; J 1

Figure? 3, vertical and longitudinal-I cross section, taken on lines ozf Fig ure l;

Figures :4 andl-v 5;: are detailed zvertical transverse. sectional" views; on an enlarged scale, taken: respectively on lines-1H and 5: 5' of Figure 1'.

- Figured is a; similar ViBWVj takBH on line 6-..6 0f Figure 2, and disclosing lmore par-- ticularly the relation of theswitch thr0wing means to thetrack proper.

Referring: more in detail touthe drawings, number '1 designates the main:ralls, suitably embedded in concrete 2; The sidmgi-iqs shown at 3iwiththeiswitchpoi-nt 4;:t o which 'base 9 lfor'pivotally 'IDOLHI tlII'g, as at- 10 the bar 11 and saddle 1'2. Thisebar 1 1 is placed in and attached to the pivoted saddle 12"with set screws .13 ini'a manner. to. permit at its being readily removed and replaced; 'Ehe saddle 12 has for its purpose: the carrying of the bar 1 1' and permit oat its beingpivotally moved. The saddle J2 should be attached-to the Jean 11 "at the proper distance to insure throwingtheuswitch-point 4- the fUIlIWldthOfsthB rail.- 1 w The actuating bar 1 1 is constructedwwitli a IT-shaped end to. permit the rollers- 14 :being: attached at each side" of this end", designed to project through slots=15 into-the grooves 8' and' contact, with: the: shoe of the car attachment. "llliis-bar 'l lg is braced and supported by guides 1:6 which also form. the underground framework, The' other endsi'o f the .bar l l'isnconstructed to form .QQZI'SJfl permitting the 'lhar 1=1 to -he apivot'allyrrattached at? 1 8 to block l9 awh i-clii is: carried by the" .j ointed'v lroldi; 2.0,; Thisgxjpi-nted rod 20 is pivotedatwZlg to rod .22 which in turn a is pivotal-1y. tfiasten'e dat 23; to; iilie -switche'point ar; The fodsv2t) and:z22qareconstructed.to pivot-oat 211%and 23: tolpermitthe switchfit spring 26 and constructed to form collars 25 at the extreme ends which support the spiral spring 26 and which are adjusted in place by two locknuts 27.- On the other side ofv the block 19 there'is another spiral spring 28 which operates tothe reverse of spiral spring 26 and is-held in place and adjusted by two locknuts 29.

1 spiral springs 26 and 28 is to provide a cushioning action to permit the switchpoint to be; thrown from one side to the other without striking the sides with force, and causing possible damage to the structure. At this point it may be well to state that if there should happen to be any foreign matter such as stones or ice on the rail which would prevent the action of the switchpoint, the operation of the switch throwing mechanism would only result in contracting, the spiral springs and leaving the switch-point idle, thereby preventing any possible damage to the mechanism. The

spiral springs 26 and 28 also permit taking up any wear which may occur to the underground bar 11 by tightening the locknuts 27 or 29. It is recommended that the spiral springs be constructed with sufiicient strength to throw the switch-point :while still permitting the springs to be compressed for the emergency above described. jointed rods 20 and 22 with attachments are affixed within a lateral pit 30 which has a cover 31 to exclude foreign matter such as snow, ice or dirt, and also to prevent damage from surface traflic.

The switch throwing mechanism further comprises two car attachments which are affixed in parallel positions under thev car flooring 32 ata distance apart to correspond with the grooves 8 of the underground attachment, and are each designed to throw the switch-point one way or the other; The two car attachments are identical in design and construction and it is therefore understood that only one will be'described. Each car attachment comprises a housing which is bolted to the flooring at 34 and through which passesthe plunger 35 carryingthe shoe 37. This'housing is braced 36 and reinforced. the'lower end of the plunger 35 there is'aflixed a shoe 37 which may be detachably secured to permit'vof its being replaced when worn. The operator of the car depresses the plunger 35-with his foot causingthe shoe 37 to be pushed into the groove 8 and coming into contact with'the The purpose of the The tively to the shoe 37 and the braces 36.

At a point midway between the rollers 14 and the ends of the grooves 8, there are placed in the grooves 8 two sloping plates 39,

attached at parallel points, which elevate the plunger 35 and drop it again, thereby warning the operator that the shoe 37 has passed the roller 14 and that the plunger 35 should be released. A set of inclined plates 40am also attached at the ends of the grooves 8 to elevate the shoes 37 to the street level if the operator has failed to notice the signal given by the sloping plates 39 and has not released the plunger 35. i

Having shown and described the construction and operation of this switch operating mechanism, what I now claim as my invention is v 1. A switch operating mechanism comprising a jointed rod attached to the switch point, a bar which is attached to a pivotally mounted saddle, being connected at one end to the jointed" rod and at the other end carrying rollers which extend through slots into groovesformed by the underground framework, a set .of two plungers, each carrying a shoe at its terminal, which is pushed into the groove when the plunger is depressed, and which contacts with the roller carried by the underground bar. p

2. A switch operating mechanism comprising a jointed rod pivotally attached to the switch-point to permit any rocking motion of the switch-point, said rod carrying spiral springs on both sides of a connecting block which provide a cushioning action in throwing the switch-point, a bar attached to the connecting block and carried in a saddle pivotally attached to the base of the underground framework, said bar also carrying rollers on its T-shaped end which protrude through slots into the grooves, a set of two plungers, each having aflixed at the lower end a shoe which is pushed into the groove when the plungeris depressed, and which contacts with the roller carried by the underground bar. I

3. A switch operating mechanism comprising a jointed rod attached to the switch point, pivotally constructed to permit any rocking motion of the switch-point without causing damage to the structure, said rod carrying a connecting block held in lace by spiral springs which provide a cus ioning action in throwing the switch-point and providing a means to permit the underground bar to be actuated when the switch point is forcibly made to remain idle because of foreign matter on the rail, this being accomplished by the contracting of the spiral springs,a bar attached to the-connecting block and carried in a saddle pivotally attached to the base of the underground framework and designed to pivot with the saddle, said bar also carrying rollers at its T-shaped end which protrude through slots into the grooves, a set of two plungers, each operating' through a housing properly braced and securely fastened under the car flooring, and having two contractile springs to return said plungers when depressed to their original position, each of said plungers also having afiixed at the lower end, a shoe which is pushed into the groove when the plunger is depressed, and which contacts with the roller carried by the underground bar, a set of sloping and inclined plates attached in the grooves, designed respectively to warn the operator that the shoe has passed the roller, and to elevate the shoe to 'thesurface level, if the operator has failed to observe the signal of the sloping plates.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature hereto.

ALVA S. NORMENT. 

